Heart of Fire, Heart of Stone
by Tawnykit
Summary: [on hiatus] A collection of SetoxSerenity drabbles.
1. Pulling the Plug

A/N: Hey all! Look, another drabble series from me! This one is a collection of my responses to the SxS Awards drabble challenges LiveJournal community. As such, please note that they are not supposed to be connected; they stand alone, and will not make sense if you try and read them as one story.

Enjoy!

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**Title:** Pulling the Plug  
**Theme:** Tech Support  
**Rating:** T  
**Length:** 971 words

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Seto Kaiba frowned, pausing with one of his hands on the doorknob to the small apartment. His other hand was reaching into his pocket to remove the key that his girlfriend had given him sometime before. 

Through the ridiculously thin plaster wall and the gap between wooden door and carpeted floor, the young CEO could hear raised voices arguing about _something_.

He sighed. He had had hopes that her brother wouldn't be awake at this hour. It was late, nearing midnight, but it was the only time that he had been able to spare.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he pressed his ear to the door, wondering what The Mutt's (he refused to believe that such a ruckus could be the fault of his gentle Serenity) problem was _this_ time…

"–lax, 'Ren, I know what I'm doin'!"

"_Joey_…"

"Hey, ya leave it to me, I can fix it!"

"But–"

"I can handle it!"

"We should call Seto–"

"Ain't _no way_ I'm callin' Money Bags for no tech support."

"Joey, I'm serious… I'm sure he wouldn't mind–"

"Ain't _no way_, ain't _no how_."

"Argh! You're so pigheaded!"

"Me?"

"Yes! Joey, you're going to break something!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am–"

Standing out in the hallway, Seto froze, the amused smirk on his lips fading into a line of what might be described as grim worry. Was that an _explosion_?

Swiftly, the CEO freed the key from his pocket and unlocked the door, swinging it open so he could enter the room on the other side. He raised an eyebrow at the sight that greeted him.

Serenity Wheeler was leaning back on her hands as if she'd thrown herself backward to escape being hit by something. She was staring wide-eyed at a lump of blackened plastic on the floor in front of her.

Far more amusing a spectacle was her older brother. The Mutt had apparently been leaning over the whatever-it-had-been when it had blown. His face was blackened, his hair stood on end, and, at least from where Seto stood, it appeared that his eyebrows had been singed off of his forehead. He was staring, stunned and apparently in some form of shock, at the lump of plastic.

Seto smirked, turning to face Serenity again. She looked up as he stepped into the room, giving him a sheepish smile.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Is _he_ all right?" Seto asked, jerking his thumb at her brother.

She nodded again.

"Damn."

"_Seto_…" she warned.

He shook his head at her. "What happened, exactly?"

"…Joey couldn't get his X-Box to work. He decided to 'fix it.'"

"And I can see how _that_ turned out…" the brunet drawled. He stepped over to what was formerly an X-Box, nudging the melted knob of plastic with his toe. "Looks like it's broken, Mutt."

The other boy finally shifted, coming out of his shock in order to meet his rival's eyes with a glare. "No _duh_, Moneybags. I'm _so_ glad we've gotta genius around t' tell us dese dings."

Seto raised his eyebrows, allowing his gaze to drift to the far wall. "Tell me, Wheeler… Before you tried taking it apart and putting it back together again… Did you try plugging it in?"

The two Wheelers followed his gaze to where an electrical socket was implanted into the wall, clearly empty. Serenity blushed in embarrassment. Joey growled, slumping down and putting his head in his hands. "Shut _up_, Kaiba"

Smirking, the lanky teenager glanced at Serenity. "You up for something to eat after all this excitement?"

Scrambling to her feet, she nodded. "Sure! Just… let me get my coat."

Seto nodded, following her into her bedroom. She grabbed a windbreaker from the closet, then turned around to meet him.

She was frowning. Confused, the CEO cocked his head at her, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Why do you and Joey pick on each other so much?"

"…We've been over this before."

"So?"

Sighing, he slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"Seto–" she started, but he silenced her by pressing his mouth to hers.

"Come on," he murmured when they came up for air, "I didn't eat dinner tonight. Let's go."

She sighed in frustration, but then smiled. "You're hopeless."

"I take pride in it," he growled, the repeated, "Let's go."

She followed him into the kitchen. Her brother was still sitting on the floor, now cradling the X-Box remains as if in mourning. Seto rolled his eyes.

"You go ahead, Serenity. I need to do something first."

Seeing her warning glare, he held up his hands. "I'll behave."

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You'd better."

He shooed her out into the hallway, then turned to The Mutt. "Wheeler," he barked.

"Go 'way, Kaiba…"

"It's broken, Wheeler."

"No _duh_."

Seto sighed. "Serenity says I have to be nice to you. Take advantage of it. Would you like me to buy you another one?"

The other boy looked up. "Wah?"

"Me. Credit card. You. X-Box. Is that favorable?"

The Mutt gave him a dazed nod.

"Good. Throw that piece of junk out."

The blond blinked at him, then climbed to his feet and carried the lump of plastic out of the room.

Seto looked about him. He supposed he could make the few thousand yen sacrifice, if it would make his girlfriend happy. In the meantime…

His eyes settled on the television, and he smirked. Walking casually over to it, he bent down, reached behind the table that it sat on, and swiftly pulled its black cord out of its socket. Then, just as casually, he turned and walked away, leaving the apartment to meet Serenity down at his limousine.

He couldn't _wait_ to see how Wheeler would handle this…


	2. Texas Hold'em

**Title: **Texas Hold'em  
**Theme: **Gamble  
**Rating: **T  
**Length: **944 words

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Seto Kaiba couldn't believe that he was really going to go through with this. 

He sighed, remembering how he had managed to get himself into this position. It had been a game. A pure, innocent game with his younger brother. The boy had wanted to spend some quality time with him… and Seto had reluctantly agreed.

He should have known better.

It wasn't Duel Monsters that Mokuba had wanted to play. It wasn't chess. It wasn't even that silly Capsule Monsters game the raven-haired child had been so infatuated with when he was younger.

It was _poker_.

Seto _hated_ poker. It was one game that he wasn't particularly good at, though he was still better than the average amateur. And he despised gambling itself; he had worked too hard to earn his money for him to throw it all away, even if it was technically a gamble that had given him that money in the first place.

But the cold hearted, infamously dreaded, ruthless, heart-of-stone CEO had a soft spot for his kid brother, and so it was that he found himself sitting across from the boy, allowing himself to be dealt into a game of No-Limit Texas Hold'em.

He had lost.

That in and of itself was bad enough. He never lost; the few times he had had been embarrassing anomalies that he hated to recall.

But the real part he hated was the _price_ for his loss.

Before they had begun their game, Mokuba had laid the terms. They wouldn't play for money; it made no sense, as they were both filthy rich. Instead, the winner would be able to challenge the loser to do anything they wanted... and the loser _had_ to do it. It had seemed childish to the young CEO; it was only one small step up from Truth or Dare, a game he utterly loathed. But again, Mokuba was the one thing he was unable to deny.

And so he had agreed.

He should have known better than that, too.

He winced now, remembering exactly what it was that Mokuba had coerced him into doing. He had protested, of course; it wasn't _proper_, it was _unsanitary_, and if he was caught it would become _scandalous_.

Of course, as he had been so _helpfully_ informed, propriety was relative, people did it all the time, and since when had he cared about his public image?

And he had _promised_.

He sighed now. It hadn't taken him long to track her down. She went for a walk in Domino City Park every evening as the sun began to set, a habit that ran as sure as clockwork. He didn't allow himself to name exactly how he knew that she did this; he kept tabs on everyone who had ever had some kind of influence on his life. He had no special interest in her…

There she was. Just ahead of him, he could see her long red hair glowing in the dying sun. She was standing in the edge of a small duck pond, listening to the frogs and crickets serenade her.

"Wheeler!" he called.

She whirled around, startled. When she recognized him, she gave him a puzzled look.

"Mr… Kaiba?" She knew him from Battle City, and had seen him occasionally in the hallways at school, but he had never appeared to pay any attention to her.

"No. Santa Claus," he growled in reply, coming up to stand beside her.

She stared. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor."

"It's called sarcasm, girl."

"…What are you doing here, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Am I not allowed to take a walk through the park? It _is_ public property, isn't it?" He was still playing the sarcasm card, taking his annoyance at his position out on her instead of keeping a stoic silence like he would have preferred.

"Yes, it is." She had either missed his temper, or was ignoring it. "But aren't you usually working at this time of day?" At any time of day?

"…Yes." He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he needed to do next.

"So then why–"

She was swiftly cut off as he reached over and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him and clamping his mouth over hers.

She gasped in surprise… and then she… responded.

…She wasn't supposed to respond.

He had intended for it to be quick; he wasn't sure why it seemed that time had stopped around them. He wasn't sure why it felt like there was fire in his veins, or why he felt the sudden urge to deepen the kiss.

He had to stop this; he was enjoying it too much. He pulled away, leaving her gasping, and almost frowned when he noticed that his hands had disobeyed him by wrapping themselves loosely around her waist.

"What was that for?" The girl breathed; she did not sound entirely unhappy with him.

He looked down at her face. She looked so… innocent. She reminded him strongly of his brother, the dear child who had kept him strong for so long, and who had subsequently landed him in this position. A position which, quite strangely, he _liked_.

"Actually… That was for a bet," he admitted. Before she could pull away, he tightened his grip about her waist. "But… This one isn't."

And as he closed the distance between them again, delighting in the fact that not only did she not try to pull away, but that she seemed to be enjoying herself as much as he was, a stray thought crossed his mind.

He would have to do this again sometime.

And people claimed that gambling wasn't addictive…


	3. Trick or Treat

Happy belated Halloween to everyone!

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**Title:** Trick or Treat  
**Theme:** Costume  
**Rating:** T  
**Length:** 144 words

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"_What_ are you _wearing_?" 

"A costume."

"…You're kidding."

"What? It's Halloween."

"…Aren't you a little old to go Trick or Treating?"

"Your brother's going."

"_My brother_ still believes in Santa Claus. And the Tooth Fairy."

"…You're point?"

"That _was_ my point."

"Anyway, I wasn't planning on going trick or treating."

"Then why wear a costume?"

"So I can scare your brother when he comes to the door."

"…You're sadistic."

"Thank you. Now move over; you're stepping on my tail."

"I'll step on your…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing…"

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"Hey, Seto, it's getting late; the Trick or Treaters are going to start coming around soon. Where's the–?" Mokuba, who had swung open the door to his brother's office without even bothering to knock, froze upon entering. 

Suddenly he snickered. "Jeez, Seto. You're supposed to eat the candy, not your girlfriend.

"…Nice costume, by the way."


	4. And the Curtains Fall

**Title:** And the Curtains Fall  
**Theme:** Curtains  
**Rating:** K+  
**Length: **344 words

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The girl stared in horror down at the boy whose head lay in her lap, his skin already pale and cooling from the poison that had robbed him away from her. 

Choking back a sob, she made a decision, murmured her farewells to the world, and drew his dagger from his belt, sliding the blade into a new sheathe.

They found them not long after, their bodies still warm with the life that no longer belonged to them. There was mourning, and was justice dealt as their two families embraced like brothers, forgetting their meaningless quarrels.

And then the curtains fell.

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"That was pretty good, don't you think?" the auburn haired girl asked, turning to look at the tall man beside her as they walked away from the theatre house. 

"The acting was better than most I've seen, I admit, but I have never seen the point of the play in the first place," was the nonchalant reply.

"What, don't you like _Romeo and Juliet_?" she asked, cocking her head at him.

"Not particularly. It's not very realistic, when you think about it. They get married the day after they meet and then kill themselves three days later. Things don't happen like that."

"What? Don't you believe in love at first sight?" she teased.

His silence is answer enough.

They walked in silence for a little longer, and then the girl gave her tall companion a sly look. She stopped, fixing tragic look on her face. He turned back to face her, frowning in puzzled concern. "Serenity?"

She grinned at him, raising her clasped hands in front of her. "O, happy dagger! This is thy sheathe!" She acted as if she was stabbing herself with her imaginary blade, falling forward when her hands made contact with her stomach.

He smirked and shook his head, catching her as she fell. "All right, Juliet. Let's get you home." He scooped her up, his smirk growing into a smileas she discarded her death act and wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling closer to her Romeo.


	5. Easter Candy

A/N: It's a little depressing that I have to respond to my own challenge to write something. I think I'll go through the archives for old challenges, and then maybe try a few other communities. Anyway, Happy belated Easter.

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**Title: **Easter Candy  
**Theme:** Easter  
**Rating: **K+  
**Length: **170 words  
**Warnings: **This drabble contains what may be seen as slandering of the Christian religion. This is _not_ what I intended while writing it. My parents are Christian and I have nothing against said religion. I am merely writing this the way I feel these characters would react. However, if you feel _you_ might be offended, please don't read. I'm here to entertain, not insult.

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"Remind me why you need all this candy, again?" 

"It's Easter."

"And?"

"Chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps are a requirement for Easter time."

"Yes, well, I'm sure it keeps all the dentists happy. What do rabbits and baby chickens have to do with Pontius Pilate killing a religious figure?"

"No, that's Good Friday."

"Makes you wonder how great he was, if Good Friday is the day he died..."

"Sorry, I didn't catch that...?"

"Nothing."

"...Anyway, Easter is when He rose from death."

"And what does it have to do with rabbits and baby chickens?"

"...I don't know."

"That's what I thought. Are you sure you have enough candy there?"

"I could always add a little more..."

"That won't be necessary. Why are you smiling like that?"

"What, I'm not allowed to smile?"

"...Don't you find it at least a _little_ disturbing that the Easter _Bunny_ brings chocolate _rabbits_ for small children to eat?"

"...Y'know, you have issues."

"I know. And you love me for them."

"Mmm. Well, there is that."

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Sorry, not a lot of romance, but I'm pretty low on creativity right now. Blame school. 


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